Hosted by Just Festival at Edinburgh International

Just Festival at
Edinburgh International
Festival Fringe August 2017
Hosted by
The historic Rainbow Restaurant
is going to Edinburgh’s International
Festival Fringe.
It will be hosted by Just Festival.
Presenting a multi-disciplinary South
African cultural installation aiming to
share the best of their 36 year history
of struggle for freedom and peace
through music, this unique multimedia
installation follows the South Africa - UK
Season (2014-2015) and tells a story of
memories and hope.
Where:
Just Festival, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK
Venue: St John’s Church, Princes Street:
a 120 seats theatre in the city center.
When:
August 2017
24 DAYS of performance
What:
Installed in a re-designed church with
a special “Rainbow” artistic set-up,
the one month installation, “the
RAINBOW in EDINBURGH” will share
the ongoing story of a unique cultural
institution from KwaZulu-Natal where
music is used as a medium to break
down social barriers”
On stage:
7 bands that have a historic link to the
Rainbow stage will have four days of
performances each.
2 - Rainbow in Edinburgh
The Music
The Sounds of KwaZulu-Natal
Madala Kunene
Madala Kunene, the king of Zulu blues guitar is one of
the oldest and dearest friends of the Rainbow with a
performance history on our stage dating back to the 1980’s.
As part of a double bill with the high energy maskanda
sounds of Shabalala Rhythm for our opening salvo in
Edinburgh, we cannot think of a better combination to lay
down a distinct marker on the region that gave birth to
the Rainbow Restaurant. With the Rainbow having been
established in the dark days of Apartheid, we are inviting
Kunene to present his current album, 1959 .
Kunene was born in 1951 in Mkhumbane (Cato Manor), a
vibrant mixed community just outside of inner Durban. The
son of a carpenter, Kunene was raised by his grandmother —
a staunch academic who wanted him to be something of a
bookworm. At the age of eight, in the year 1959, Kunene and
some members of his extended family were trucked off by
the Apartheid government to go live in the then relatively new
township of KwaMashu. “People can’t imagine what it’s like
when you see bulldozers demolish your home in the middle
of the night,” recalls Kunene. “The worst thing was that when
they moved us, they came at night and packed my family
into the back of a truck and then went to another area to
pick up another family there and so on. So you were not just
separated from your home, you were stripped of your friends
and neighbours in the process. It was a very calculated act,”
Kunene adds.
Shabalala Rhythm
World music talent comes no finer than
that from the Shabalala family of Durban.
Sibongiseni Shabalala, who now steps
into his father’s shoes to lead Ladysmith
Black Mambaso, is also the core of the hot
Maskanda act Shabalala Rhythm.
A hugely talented performer Sibongiseni
drives with a passion any project he is
involved with. Shabalala Rhythm began
in 1998 and after writing tracks “Ubuhle
Bakho” and “Intombi Ingalile” Durban
guitarist Maqhinga Radebe was called
to join the group. Later that year the first
album was released.Since the band formed
they have gone from strength to strength
performing nationally and internationally.
Their live shows are high energy, very slick
productions.
Supporters of the band know to expect
a fantastic event and new followers
will be swept up by their precision and
interpretation of the Maskanda style.
Rainbow in Edinburgh - 3
The Music
The Jazz Masters
Louis Mhlanga Quintet
Mhlanga (born 10 November 1956) is
a South African based Zimbabwean
award-winning guitarist and producer.
Mhlanga’s career began in the 1970s.
Fronting many bands in Zimbabwe,
he mixed American and Zimbabwean
influences into his music. Mhlanga
became renowned for his guitar skills,
and worked with Zimbabwean acts
Darius Brubeck Quartet
The Darius Brubeck Quartet has acquired an
enthusiastic following for its strong programs of
South African jazz, Dave Brubeck hits and Darius’
original compositions. Playing to consistently
sold-out houses at regional festivals and clubs,
including London’s Ronnie Scott’s, Pizza Express
and 606 Jazz Clubs, the London-based Quartet’s
acoustic sound is melodic, spontaneous and
rhythmically exciting. Audiences also appreciate
the talk between songs. The London-based
Quartet has toured Europe and the Middle East
and recorded three CDs, “For Lydia and the
4 - Rainbow in Edinburgh
Lion”, “Two And Four/To And Fro” and the 2015
release “Cathy’s Summer”. ‘More than half a
century after [Dave Brubeck] invited listeners to
start counting in odd numbers, the music has
lost none of its poise… Darius is as cultured
a pianist as his father.’ Clive Davis, The Times
‘Darius, the eldest [of Dave Brubeck’s sons] and
most visually like his father, plays stylish piano
and knows the score.’ Jack Massarik, Evening
Standard
such as Shaka, Talking Drum, Ilanga,
Mudzimu, and Oliver Mtukudzi. Louis
eventually headed to South Africa to
pursue different musical opportunities,
leading to collaborations with renowned
South African artists such as Miriam
Makeba, Hugh Masekela, Ray Phiri,
Sipho Mabuse, Mlunhgisi Gegane, and
Busi Mhlongo.
The Music
The Jazz Masters
Melvin Peters & Arne Hiorth
Pops Mohammed & Dave Reynolds
Pops Mohamed: South Africa’s
beloved “minister” of music, multiinstrumentalist, jazz composer,
traditional music preservationist and
global “Fucha-Rist” was featured
in the TV series 21 Icons. He’s
synonymous with the term South
African Jazz legend. He’s a multiaward winning performer who’s toured
with artists like world music legends
Andreas Vollenweider and Baaba Maal
and recorded music with SA’s tribal
people - the San, more commonly
known as the Bushmen.
Melvin Peters started classical
piano lessons at the age of six
and continued through high
school. Whilst studying towards
a Bachelor of Music degree
at the University of Natal, he
began jazz piano lessons under
the tutelage of Darius Brubeck
in 1983. After completing a
Master of Music degree in
Jazz Performance in 1989, he
was appointed lecturer in Jazz
Studies at the University of
Durban-Westville in 1990. (UN
and UDW are now combined
under the name University of
Kwazulu-Natal). He taught here
for ten years and during this
time was awarded a scholarship
to study at Harvard University in
1998/9. In 2010, Peters joined
Norwegian trumpeter Arne
Hiorth in a performance with the
North Sea Big Band at National
Arts Festival in Grahamstown,
South Africa. When Hiorth
visited South Africa in late 2015,
he joined Peters in a quartet for
a performance at the Rainbow
on 8 November.
He also co-created the TV show
Southern Rhythms. The show explores
the relationship between music and
spirituality in SA.
Dave Reynolds is SA’s leading
steelpan player! He’s a SAMRO Award
winning composer and also performs
with acoustic guitar. He’s toured
and recorded all over the world with
legends like Steve Newman, Hugh
Masekela, the late Gito Baloi, Tony
Cox, the late Sipho Gumede, Paul
Hanmer and McCoy Mrubata.
Rainbow in Edinburgh - 5
The Music
The International Guest
Akale Wube
In their 6 years of existence, Akalé
Wubé has never stopped widening
the canvas onto which they lay
their music, which keeps becoming
richer and deeper just like the
their primary source of inspiration:
the popular Ethiopian repertoire
of the 60s and 70s. The band
started off covering music from the
“Ethiopiques” series, after which
they immersed themselves deeper
6 - Rainbow in Edinburgh
into Ethiopian music, all the while
multiplying their collaborations
with musicians and dancers from
Ethiopia, Africa and Europe. Slowly
but surely, clocking in at around
200 concerts in Europe, Asia and
Africa, the band has become one
of the world’s leading ambassadors
of Ethiopian groove.
Pop-up
Shebeen
The
with Zulu Flavours
Tastes of the Rainbow:
The flame grilled spicy A-Flat Chicken, the Durban bunny-chow;
uJeqe (traditional steamed bread); isibindi (fried ox-liver), usu
(tripe); the multi-colored Rainbow salad and more, all served
on Lezi’thebe, traditional hand carved wooden platters in true
African tradition of communal eating, also known as ubuntu.
Wherever possible, all products offered for sale will
be sourced from Fair Trade suppliers or suppliers
that work within the ethics of Fair Trade.
The
Spaza Shop
A pop up art and gifts shop will offer
CD’s and mementos from the artists,
Rainbow t-shirts and calendars
incorporating the images of Mayet as
well as prints of Makhanya’s paintings.
Also, traditional craft and design
from Kwazulu-Natal in partnership
with organisations such as the Woza
Moya Craft Store, a success story for
community development as a project
of the Hillcrest Aids Centre Trust www.hillaids.org.za - incorporating
crafters drawn from the catchment
area of the Rainbow’s regular clientele
as well as other successful job creating
companies like Congo Rose www.congorose.com.
Rainbow in Edinburgh - 7
A Visual Journey
Exhibition: Reminiscing In Tempo
Photographs by Rafs Mayet:
images of Rainbow Restaurant since 1985
Rafique ‘Rafs’ Mayet born in Durban in 1955, was the first
photographer to exhibit at the Cape Town International Jazz Festival in 1999.
Learning the basics in 1983 by working in the darkroom of documentary
photographer Omar Badsha, he later became a member of ‘Afrapix’, a
photographic collective that extensively covered the resistance to Apartheid
during the dark days of the Eighties and early Nineties in South Africa.
From 2004 until 2015, he was the curator for the photographic exhibitions at
the “Duotone Gallery”, an integral part of the Cape Town International Jazz
Festival experience. He has also participated in solo and group exhibitions,
both in South Africa and abroad. Rafs Mayet has been capturing images of
the Rainbow Restaurant Pinetown since 1985.
8 - Rainbow in Edinburgh
Paintings by artist Zamani Makhanya
Zamani Makhanya
, born in Durban in 1959, was first
introduced to art at Amanzimtoti College, and after completing a Fine Art
degree at Fort Hare in the Eastern Cape, went on to form a collective of
artists from the Durban area who called themselves “Third Eye Vision”.
This group rejected old artistic traditions and focused on the importance of
being African by exploring African symbolism, and were heavily influenced by
abstracts and the silent dialogue that existed between artists.
Zamani prefers to work in pastels, slowly building up the surface area using
a ‘Sgrafitto’ technique to etch into the surface, bringing out color variations
and thus, showing different textures. He held his first solo exhibition in
2003 at the African Art Centre and has also contributed to several group
exhibitions, both here in South Africa and abroad.
Side Events
Literature & Heritage
Launch and workshops on the book
Reminiscing in Tempo: The Rainbow
and Resistance in 1980’s South Africa
by Professor Marc Duby, research
professor in Musicology at the University
of South Africa. On the invitation of
Darius Brubeck, Duby a bassist by trade
initially relocated to Durban in 1984
and proceeded to perform regularly at
the Rainbow through to 1992, at a time
when the laws of the land said he was
not allowed to do so.
Darius Brubeck’s biography, Jazz
Life will also feature
in our program as his time as Professor
of Jazz Studies at the then University of
Natal was inextricably tied in with the
development of the Rainbow. Brubeck
started what is today the oldest school
of Jazz Studies in Africa during this
time and together with Pretorius and
the Rainbow established the Ronnie
Madonsela Scholarship Fund at the
University, which has supported the
development of some of the brightest
lights to come out of South Africa in the
world of jazz.
Documentaries
UNDER THE RAINBOW, a biographical documentary on the Rainbow
produced by Durban based Production Company, Scholars and Gentlemen. It
will tell the story of the Rainbow’s establishment and survival under the stern
eye of the Security Branch, with a strong focus on the enigmatic character that
is Ben Pretorius, right through to present day as a functioning, living institution
that continues to host world class music events in a very “other where” location
deeply embedded in the chaotic commuter hub that is the Pinetown bus and
taxi rank.
THE RAINBOW: THE STRUGGLE FOR JAZZ AND JAZZ FOR THE
STRUGGLE, by award winning journalist, Niren Tolsi. The four key chapters of
this documentary are: “The Rainbow’s founding; The Truth and Reconciliation
Commission headed by Archbishop Tutu; The Marikana massacre; and The
apparent suicide death of jazz musician Zim Ngqawana”.
Rainbow in Edinburgh - 9
The Rainbow to Edingurgh in Numbers
40 artists
28 musical performances
2 exhibitions
2 documentaries
1 book
1 Bar Restaurant
1 stage
1 Art Shop
24 days of Festival
It is said that Edinburgh’s year round population of
500 000 more than doubles during the month of
August when the world’s biggest arts festival takes
place, the Edinburgh International Festival and Fringe
Festival. In 2015, audited ticket sales for the 3800+
productions staged exceeded 2.5 million, making
it the third largest multi-day ticketed event
in the world after the Soccer World Cup and the
Olympic Games.
Visibility Target in SA
2000 ticket buyers for fundraising concerts in KZN
100,000 exposed audience through medias
Visibility Target in UK
2,400 ticket buyers
+10,000 visitors
+250,000 exposed audience
The
ainbow
Durban
10 - Rainbow in Edinburgh
Fundraising - Join The Train
The Rainbow in Edinburgh will be ambassador
of KwaZulu Natal, South Africa by:
Sharing a live example of powerful values and history of the South African fight for
equality and social inclusion
Promoting African, South African and specifically KwaZulu-Natal culture to an
international audience
Providing training, work and international exposure to South African artists, crafters
and restaurant workers.
Promoting a key cultural attraction from KwaZulu-Natal for tourism and special
events such as the Commonwealth Games in Durban in 2022.
Rainbow in Edinburgh - 11
Fundraising - Join The Train
Become a Rainbow arch! and enjoy a full Rainbow experience
Full Main Sponsor
- R5.5m - £250 000
Exclusivity of the sponsorship and branding
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Naming rights of the event e.g. “My Company - the
Rainbow in Edinburgh “
Your logo as ONLY sponsor in full on all communication
tools: brochures, flyers, websites, goodies, T-shirts ,
social me-dias, press releases
Marketing table of your company in the venue during
24 days & speech presentation at the opening night
Screening of promotional movie of your company
before every dinner - show of Rainbow in Edinburgh
FULL EXPERIENCE to Edinburgh Festival for 4
PEOPLE with Rainbow including: flights, 3 nights,
exclusive visit of the city, VIP ticket to the Main festival,
whisky tasting, access to backstage
5 VIP tickets for every dinner - show of Rainbow in
Edinburgh during 24 days
Free entrance to Rainbow Restaurant Pinetown for
4 people, valid lifetime
Exclusive concert from one of the Rainbow in
Edinburgh artists for your company at your premises in
South Africa.
SPECIAL GIFT of a photograph from Rafs Mayet and
the corresponding painting by Zamani Makhanya
Great Sponsor
- R2m - £90 000
Heart Sponsor
- R750 000 - £35 000
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Your logo as sponsor on all communication tools:
brochures, flyers, websites, goodies, T-shirts, social
media, press releas-es.
Marketing table for your company in the venue during
the 24 day installation and speech presentation on the
opening night.
INVITATION to Edinburgh for 2 PEOPLE with the
Rainbow including flights, 3 nights exclusive visit to the
city, VIP ticket to the Main festival, whisky tasting, access
to backstage.
2 VIP tickets for every show of the Rainbow in
Ediunburgh
Free entrance to Rainbow Restaurant, Pinetown for 2
people, valid lifetime.
One exclusive music concert of one of the Rainbow
in Edinburgh artists for your company at the Rainbow,
Pinetown.
Great Sponsor
R2 000 000
£90 000
Heart Sponsor
R750 000
£35 000
12 - Rainbow in Edinburgh
•
•
•
Your logo on all communication tools: brochures,
flyers, websites, goodies, T-shirts, social medias, press
releases.
Marketing table for your company in the venue
throughout the installation and speech presentation on
the opening night
2 complimentary tickets for every show of the Rainbow in
Edinburgh.
Free entrance to Rainbow Restaurant, Pinetown for 2
people, valid lifetime.
Full Main Sponsor
R5 500 000
£250 000
About The Rainbow Restaurant
The Rainbow Restaurant occupies
a unique space in South Africa’s
political and musical history. It
opened its doors for trade on
Thursday 17 December 1981. It was
the first such establishment of its
kind in KwaZulu-Natal, located in
a so called “white” area under the
Group Areas Act, to be granted a
license to sell food and sorghum
beer to Africans, run by Ben
Pretorius and Billy Mthembu.
In those dark days of Apartheid,
the Rainbow played an important
role in the struggle against the
government of the day. Whilst
being under constant surveillance
it was an important meeting place
for activists fighting against the
status quo. In 1983 the first concert
was staged featuring Philip Tabane
and Malombo, thus starting a
key element of what is today the
Rainbow legend. Over the years
most of South Africa’s greatest
musicians, who remained in South
Africa during the Apartheid years,
who used their music as a form
of protest, have performed on the
Rainbow stage and it has played a
key role in the development of their
careers. Whilst the music performed
and the concerts that were staged
are a celebration of our culture,
the concerts also proved to be an
ideal medium to protest against the
Apartheid system.
By 1994, Mthembu had sold his
shares in the business to Pretorius
who, after a yearlong safari through
Africa with his wife Pam, returned
to Durban with renewed energy,
getting partnerships such as the
Rainbat project with the newly
On the September
2, 2001 legendary
Durban singer Busi
Mhlongo performed
at the handover
concert and so
the Rainbow story
continued.
opened
BAT Centre, up and
running. They also started a new
venture in the form of an eco-tourism
business called Ufudu Flyfishing
Experience.
As Ufudu grew, the music program
at the Rainbow staggered on under
different managers. In June 2001,
at Pretorius’ surprise 50th birthday
celebrations at the Rainbow, It
was suggested to Neil and Nicola
Comfort - Neil having assisted Pam
in securing such stalwart Rainbow
performers as Winston “Mankunku”
Ngozi, Darius Brubeck and Sandile
Shange for the event - that they
consider taking up the reins.
Now in 2016, after
15 years of keeping
the Rainbow vibe for
their regular customers
whilst maintaining
the egalitarian space created
by Pretorius and Mthembu, the
Comfort’s and the extensive network
of friends of the Rainbow feel it is
time to take this unique story to the
world. For Neil and Nicola this is also
part and parcel of their succession
plans for the Rainbow, where their
vision is that the team that runs
the Rainbow on a day to day basis
end up in an ownership position by
2021, when, like Pretorius, their 20
years at the Rainbow are up. A true
empowerment story centred on the
workers.
Rainbow in Edinburgh - 13
The Rainbow Restaurant In Numbers
1981 Opened by Ben Pretorius
and Billy Mthembu
1983 First concert staged
featuring Philip Tabane and The
Malombo Men
1988 Nelson Mandela 70th
Birthday concert attended by
more than 500 people including
at least 10 state Security Branch
members
2001 Neil and Nicola Comfort
take over ownership
Since 2001
+/- 375 concerts
+/- 75 000 people attending
concerts
Averaging band size at 6
members per concert, work
created for musicians equals
approximately 2250 work days
Today
The Rainbow has 14 full time
employees with up to 6 contract
workers for concert days
The Rainbow trades 360 days
a year
Opening time is 10am each day
with closing between 7 and 8pm
each evening
The Rainbow has consistently
been amongst the top 10 onconsumption outlets by volume
in SABMiller product for the past
15 years
+/- 26 concerts are staged each
year with an average 16 ticketed
concerts and 10 free entrance
events
Between 200 to 250 people
attend each concert with a
diverse demographic ranging
from blue collar workers to high
income individuals
14 - Rainbow in Edinburgh
About Our Hosts - Just Festival
Just Festival events, part of
the Edinburgh International
Festival Fringe, aim to challenge
perceptions, celebrate differences
and promote respectful dialogue.
The conversations, talks, exhibitions and performances which
constitute Just’s annual programme are designed to engage
with topical local, national and international questions of social
justice, equality and identity, including prejudice against race,
ethnicity, class and economic status. Just explores these
issues by creating safe spaces for dialogue and exchange
between affected groups and individuals, invited experts,
practitioners, community based organisations, socially
conscious performing arts groups and the general public.
Rainbow in Edinburgh - 15
Neil & Nicola
Nicola Comfort, co-owner
of the Rainbow has been involved
in the arts since 1990. Growing up
in West Yorkshire, she began her
career as an actress/ASM for a small
theatre company in her home town.
At 19 she landed regular episodes as
a character on Yorkshire Television’s
Emmerdale.
A fantastic
opportunity to
travel and be
involved in a big
production gave
her experience
that many teens
didn’t get. During
this period
she got the
opportunity to
visit South Africa
and a huge shift
began in her
passion.
In 1996 she
took a year out
to volunteer in
South Africa. She offered
her experience and enthusiasm to
the newly developed BAT (Bartel
Arts Trust) Centre. A community
centre for musicians, dancers,
visual artists and actors. A centre
with rehearsal rooms, galleries,
16 - Rainbow in Edinburgh
performance spaces all working
together in a space where artists
could inspire each other. That was it
– life changed! After volunteering for
the year, BAT offered her a position
as project manager, where she
developed cultural evenings and new
business for the centre. This centre
was also the place where she
and Neil met,
worked and lived together.
In 2001 when they were offered
the ownership of the Rainbow
Restaurant they jumped at the
chance. Giving them the opportunity
to protect and develop this sacred
space and renew the Rainbow’s rich
musical legacy.
15 years and 2 children later, Nicola
juggles home, kids and business,
she keeps the admin and media for
the Rainbow in check and is the
sometime gear stick for Neil’s off the
wall ideas! Nicola’s joy is in seeing
a concert come to life
and witnessing
that magic when
audience and band
become one.
Starting in 1994 as
personal assistant
to Busi Mhlongo,
one of the greatest
and most inspirational
singers to come out
of South Africa, Neil
Comfort has worked
in pretty much every
single position in the live
music industry barring
being an entertainment
lawyer or a performer on
stage. As far as the former
is concerned, Neil believes that
moral integrity and keeping to ones
word trumps anything written into
a contract. As far as the second
is concerned, when Neil found his
feet in the music scene in South
Africa in the mid-1990’s, the most
glaring shortfall was strong artist
representation - a wealth of talent
but a lack of viable performance
opportunities for that talent.
Career highlights include securing
a contract to manage the entire
music program at the BAT Centre in
1997, on the back of producing an
850 over-capacity concert for the
Springbok Nude Girls in the BAT
Hall; being appointed office manager
for Presentation Services Limited,
technical service providers to the
8th International Aids Conference,
Durban 2000; being invited to take
over custodianship of the historic
Rainbow Restaurant in 2001;
and curating the emerging artist
program for the eThekwini (Durban)
Metropolitan region for the 2010 FIFA
World Cup Soccer tournament.
Having produced in excess of five
thousand stage calls for live bands
over more than twenty years,
Neil feels that with the support of
the team behind the Rainbow in
Edinburgh, most importantly his
partner Nicola and project manager
Sarah Doignon, it is time to the take
the unique story of the Rainbow to
the world.
Contact
Artistic Director:
NEIL COMFORT
bandwagon@artslink.co.za
Project Manager:
NICOLA COMFORT
nicolacomfort34@gmail.com
Project And Fundraising Coordinator:
SARAH DOIGNON
sarah.doignon@gmail.com